In reply to puppythedog:To give a bit of balance, I worked all yesterday (helped by family) and went into school on Friday of half term. I didn't work the rest of half term because I had several weeks of working late upto half term. However much of that was due to my Key Stage Co-ordinator
role.
On a more helpful note, it does get better, I'm several years in, so it takes me far less time to plan than it used to, just because I know what I'm doing, and because I can use resources from previous years.
Is she primary or secondary?
I find that using TES resources instead of making your own is good, other good sites are worksheet works, (although be careful, its American) it can be used to differentiate really well with minimum effort,
http://www.worksheetworks.com/
and
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/
As for marking, I have a pot of green pens in my classroom, and where possible encourage the children to mark their own and each others work (under supervision obviously) it means they get feedback quicker, and it means I just have to look through and deal with problems instead of checking every single question. Because they use green and I don't, there is no confusion about who marked it. Peer marking is good for the students to get a real understanding of what is required and how to improve their work. It is also a real time saver!!
I also set some homework that is computer marked, which helps. Not everything has to be traditional and in an exercise book. Powerpoints or posters or mind maps can be very useful and need much less marking.
I am trying something new at the moment, I have printed off some stickers (or you can get stampers) saying things like "show your working out" as I got fed up of writing this all the time.
The other things, don't waste time on unimportant stuff, don't be a perfectionist, and mark books or exams quicker by getting all the books open at the right page, then marking one task for each and every student, then moving on to marking the next task for every student. If you mark one student at a time it takes far longer.
Hope some of that helps.